Expeditions

A Prayer for Our Children

True North Family,

We set Wednesdays aside to pray specifically for family issues. That can be many things, depending on the week. Our refrigerator is covered with pictures of family members; some who live in Idaho and many who live in other states. If you pray for everyone pictured, you can cover the whole family. Wednesdays make me feel more connected to people I love but don’t see every day. A family is a powerful gift from God. These are the people who know you well enough to call you on stuff while they continue to invite you in to their lives.

David writes in the Psalms (144-12) “Then our sons in their youth will be like well-nurtured plants, and our daughters will be like pillars carved to adorn a palace.”

It’s a picture of parental hope: that our sons would demonstrate healthy growth and our daughters would appear to be the strong work of a gifted artist. As sons and daughters of the living God, we are well-nurtured and reflect His workmanship. At some points during my week, this truth can be hard to see.

Praying for the children in our family and the extended family of ONE is hard work. Many of them are facing tough decisions and uncertain seasons. This week, my friend and business partner Dan suggested a question to ask in the middle of challenging circumstances: “What does all of this look like to God?” When it comes to parenting, things look very different to God than they do to me. I lack faith and lose some sleep worrying. I get caught up in how things look right now and forget that the same God who started all of us out on a journey of faith is going to complete the story in His way.  Lacking His perspective I start to think that it’s on me to make everything work together.

May your children – biological, adopted and spiritual – be well-nurtured and reflect the work of a gifted artist. And as we work on being better parents, may God’s fearless love re-shape us and everyone that we care for. 

Have a great week,

Mike

Bringer of Joy

True North Family,

This weekend our youngest, Noah James, turned 14. He spent part of it at Super 7 with the True North youth group. It’s a bit impossible to sum up all of the life lessons from the Bringer of Joy in one short email; but here are a few:

• Be ready to laugh, because it’s gonna get funny. You can’t be around Noah very long without laughing about something. He’s got impressive recall of jokes and funny stories. He’s also adding to that memory bank every day, often with stuff he makes up in the moment.

• Consider feelings  - Noah has more than his share of empathy and he’s ready to consider how someone else feels in almost every situation. There’s one exception: any defensive lineman from the opponents’ team. He happily goes to work, ruining their day, at least for two hours.

• There are no strangers – only friendships in the early stages. At the weekly ONE breakfast, school or in the family, Noah is usually working some angle of inclusion.

• The story is going to be long and worth it. With our youngest, you get all the details, a complete plot and some resolution.

In this family called ONE, the grace of our loving Father shows up in surprising ways: a conversation about the future that gives us hope, a friend who takes the time to listen to our dream, and a song that reminds us that we are not alone. To the group of people who call God Father, I guess the questions are: how can we respond to this grace? Who can we share it with? What will we become if we walk out the truth of God’s love in our city?

 Have a great week,

Mike

Family

I could say that the weekly emails from ONE have been on a vacation, that I’ve gotten too busy to write, or that I was hit by lightening and had to re-learn to speak English by watching old cartoons and reading street signs. But none of this is technically true.

It does seem as though God handpicked the summer of 2010 to make the Murray family pretty rich – in chances to trust Him. We have more questions than answers right now; a situation we share with a lot of people. In His hilarious way of flipping things upside down, God still says that believing is seeing. So, on this rainy Friday, we believe.

Throughout the summer, we saw a steady increase in the number of meals served at the weekly breakfast. Some of you have helped directly with this, so you know how these people can fill up your heart. We will start taking clothing donations again, as the weather turns colder. Jackets are especially helpful.

In The Irresistible Revolution, Shane Claiborne writes of his travels in Iraq and the experience of seeing your own country through the eyes of another culture. He shares meals and his faith with some of the people of Iraq and says, after leaving, “I have family in Iraq.” To me, this phrase captures the heart of God and the mission of ONE in this city.

The prophet Isaiah said it this way:

Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the chords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke?

Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter –when you see the naked, to clothe him, and to not turn away from your own flesh and blood?

I have family in Coeur d’Alene.

I think Shane is on to something. When we see people as family, the way we respond to them changes. We’re less likely to give up when things get tough. We stop making a list of our sacrifices. We recognize the privilege of the work and get a peek into the way God feels about us. Of course, you also have family in the city where you live. They may not look related. In fact, they’ll probably look like they’re tied to some oppressive yoke, chained up by injustice, hungry, homeless or naked. How will the city change if you and I see all of these outside conditions as simple proof that we are related?

Have a great weekend,

Mike

A Word from One: Exposure

Merry Christmas True North Family,

 

The media buzz on Tiger Woods is starting to level off. I think we’ve gone a whole week without someone new claiming to have slept with him. He is the closest thing to perfection that golf has ever seen and our first billionaire athlete. Off the course, he neglected the truly valuable to go after the temporary. His steep fall is another reminder that God’s ancient book of wisdom matches our current lives and struggles:

 

A good name is more desirable than great riches; to be esteemed is better than silver or gold. Rich and poor have this in common: The Lord is the Maker of them all. A prudent man sees danger and takes refuge, but the simple keep going and suffer for it. Humility and the fear of the Lord bring wealth and honor and life. Proverbs 22:1-4

 

I can’t think of anyone who wouldn’t welcome a cashier’s check this week for say $10,438. But there is something way more valuable than riches. It’s ours to hold and protect through daily action: a good name. That is what Tiger cannot acquire this week with all his money and fame. I have no idea what mistakes you’ve made in your life, but I do know one thing: When it comes to reputation, Tiger Woods would probably trade places with you right now, no questions asked.

 

God says that a prudent man or woman sees danger and takes refuge. By contrast, the simple keep going and suffer for it. So, the question (at the end of 2009) is: what are the places in your life and my life where we cannot afford to just keep going? Our simple approach that ignores danger will end up costing us our good name – and perhaps much more than that.

 

It’s a strange subject just before Christmas. After all, the Savior who is born at Christmas brings the forgiveness of the Father and the Hope for a new life, filled with God’s purpose. But we still have to take refuge in that hope and that means being prudent in our choices. It means saying no to those thoughts, actions and habits that can turn our lives into a lifeless, selfish place.

 

The gift of exposure may be the best thing God could wrap up and put under our trees. If we are exposed as selfish and filled with pride then we have a chance to see the danger and take refuge. He could expose us through fatigue or a disappointing exchange with a family member … perhaps some impression we want to make or control we insist on having does not work out, and we find our hearts exposed. Then we take our hearts to God and find ourselves changed.

 

From the family of faith called ONE, I wish you a Christmas of exposure, humility and the fear of the Lord that brings wealth and honor and life.

 

See you soon,

 

Mike

Is anyone in love and willing to talk about it?

True North Family,

 

I got to teach a brief workshop on writing at the high school this week. It’s a fun thing to encourage writers who are starting to wrestle with dialogue and characters. Some days I think there is this universal thing called high school that everyone experiences in about the same way. Today made me wonder about my theory.

 

We were talking about conversation drivers; those people who ask questions and show interest. I decided to demonstrate this by asking if anyone was in love and willing to talk about it. One very young girl raised her hand and offered to tell us about Dave.

 

“Your boyfriend?” I asked, getting the conversation going.

 

“My husband,” she corrected me. She then went on to tell the story of going to work in a restaurant and meeting a young man named Dave. It was love at first, even though they were both engaged to other people when they first met. Things were confusing at first, but then they totally worked out and they got married.

 

I didn’t hear much of the rest of her story. I kept thinking that she looked so young. Real life is teeming all around us. Young people are deciding about their future. Newly married couples are starting their lives together. Seniors are looking for way they can contribute to others. Followers of Christ are struggling with issues of independence and surrender. In the middle of it all, a faithful God is showing us His loving heart for people.

 

In this city where we have been placed, the God of history is making Himself known. To do that, He works through us and in us. When that doesn’t work, He goes around us. When I stop to think of all of the circumstances, events, emotions, and people that He controls every day; and that He uses big and little moments to show us His love; it’s amazing to me. His care goes beyond any words or pictures that we could use. To the group of people who call God Father, I guess the question is: is there anybody in love who is willing to talk about it?

 

Have a great week,

 

Mike

Punctuation

True North Family,

 

:)

My colon has a parenthesis next to it … I just got the news. I’m still trying to figure out how this happened ….

 

It’s not as if I avoid embarrassing check-ups. I have a regular punctuation exam and I limit my colon use … especially in longer documents. One day without explanation, you look at your computer screen and see a tiny snowman of two dots with a curved line riding shotgun.

 

I like to think that I’m pretty open-minded about relationships, but I don’t get it. A parenthesis comes with an opposing shaped partner. It’s a Ying and a Yang set-up. The end parenthesis does just that: it brings something to an end. A colon focuses attention on what follows. When these two get together, what follows is … the end.

 

To take the pressure off my colon last summer, I embraced the horizontal dash. This – I soon learned – was more addictive than illegal drugs and much easier to misuse. I welcomed the interruption of a horizontal dash – but why? Perhaps I was bored with my sentence and hoped for some unrelated amusement to salvage the paragraph. I finally cut ties with the dash when a friend pointed out that I was using it wrong.

 

For some, punctuation is clearly a religion. I know this because I have met some of the high priests in person. My misdeeds are very great – I’m probably going to hell based on quotation marks alone – and as any good editor will tell you, it’s difficult to learn about correct use when you don’t care. One day in the great beyond, it will be my job to clean up all the over-used commas in cell phone contracts.

 

Have you ever wondered what Jesus would do if someone corrected his grammar? This is the guy who said, “Before Abraham was, I am,” so at first glance there seems to be a problem with past tense/present tense. There really is no one in history like Jesus. When we look at Him, we see God’s plan for our daily lives. It’s a plan that could make us more loving, more forgiving and more hopeful than we think is even possible.

 

Have a great week,

 

Mike 

  

New Dead People

 

True North Family,

 

 

Sarah and I have a friend (Nikki) who is the mother of small children. Every week she posts new pictures and quotes from her kids on Face Book. This week’s was a classic. Nikki was driving her carload of kids past a graveyard, when her son Judah asked:

 

"Can we stop and see if they have any new dead people?"

 

It’s what every six-year old wants to know. If you ever get a chance to walk through an old graveyard, you can find yourself surrounded by history. The full story of anyone’s life is impossible to capture on a headstone. You get the bookend information: when life started and stopped. Some people list their accomplishments or name other members of their family.

 

The headstone I’m thinking of this week was completely blank – no markings at all. Not even a name, yet this was the stone that marked a turning point in history. In any graveyard in the world, you can go looking for the new dead people. That won’t work when it comes to the grave of Jesus. He’s no longer there.

 

This week we celebrate the Savior of the world who is alive! The empty grave proves that Jesus has power over death and everything in our lives.

 

Have a great week,

 

Mike